Until you see New York City from the top of the Empire State Building, you haven't really seen it! You'll remember your first visit to the Empire State Building and the amazing 360-degree panoramic views of Manhattan forever.

Your admission ticket takes you to the 86th-floor of the Empire State Building, at 1,050 feet (320 meters) and the glass-enclosed area is reached by high-speed automatic elevators. From the Empire State Building Observation Deck, you'll be treated to spectacular indoor and outdoor views of Manhattan including Central Park, Times Square, the Flatiron Building, Brooklyn Bridge, Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty and so much more.

Highlights

Skip the lines with the Express Pass admission ticket

Amazing views of Manhattan from the 86th-floor observatory of the Empire State Building

360-degree panoramic views on each side of the building from the outdoor promenade

High-powered binoculars

Visit the Art Deco-inspired Empire State Building lobby

Flexible voucher redemption policy - visit on any day within a year of date originally selected - plan your visit around the weather!

Why Our Insiders Chose This Tour

It's convenient to have advance tickets for a can't-miss sight like the Empire State Building, especially since you can visit anytime within a year. And if you're planning to go during a peak period, the skip-the-line option will save you lots of time.

Recent Photos of This Tour

Empire State Building Tickets - Observatory and Optional Skip the Line Tickets

Night coming down on Lower ...

Night coming down on Lower Manhattan and Statue of Liberty

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

Empire State Building Tickets: Observatory and Optional Skip the Line Tickets

563

Love above the city!!

Photo by: Cheryl B
03
2012

538

Taylor and the Big Apple!

Photo by: Cheryl B
03
2012

NYC

Looking south

Photo by: John Paul R
USA,
08
2009

Top of Empire State Building

Top of Empire State Building

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

One World Trade Center and ...

One World Trade Center and Statue of Liberty at night

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

Manhattan at dawn

Manhattan at dawn

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

Iconic art piece in ESB ...

Iconic art piece in ESB entrance

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

Entrance Door at ESB

Entrance Door at ESB, decorated for Christmas

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

Downtown NYC

Downtown NYC

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

Dawn falling on Lower ...

Dawn falling on Lower Manhattan

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

Cold and windy but worth it

Cold and windy but worth it

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

Bryant Prk Ice rink from ESB

Bryant Prk Ice rink from ESB

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

Bruno and I on top of ESB

Bruno and I on top of ESB

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

Brooklyn and Williamsburg ...

Brooklyn and Williamsburg Bridges at night

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

Another shot of Manhattan at ...

Another shot of Manhattan at dawn

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

Amazing View of Manhattan ...

Amazing View of Manhattan Lighting Up

Photo by: Patricia P
07
2015

Cloudy but worthwhile

Even on a cloudy day, the experience was great.

Photo by: Jan S
06
2015

du haut de lEmpire State ...

le premier soir à New York tout en haut comme à la télé

Photo by: Bettina C
06
2015

Don't you just love the view

First time in Manhattan

Photo by: Ronald A
02
2015

What You Can Expect

Empire State Building Observatory

The Empire State Building is waiting for you day or night. Come watch the sunset as New York is bathed in warm orange, red and yellow tones, then stick around as the lights come on all over town. Or come later and listen to the live music (weekends only) as the stars and lights twinkle romantically. Whenever you come, enjoy the magic without the wait.

There are 3 lines at the Empire State Building Observatory: the security line (required for all visitors), the ticket line and the elevator line. You will be required to join the ticket line to exchange vouchers on arrival.

Skip the Line Admission (Optional Upgrade - available only on peak dates) Speed past the lines on your way to the tallest point in Manhattan! Your "Express Pass" voucher will enable you to proceed directly to the front of every line, saving valuable time to do all the other things New York is famous for. Don't spend your valuable holiday time waiting in line - there's no faster way to the top of the Empire State Building!

Express Pass is especially valuable from Memorial Day through Labor Day, from Thanksgiving until New Year's any time of day and all holiday weekends. Other times of year the Express Pass is recommended for planned visits between 11am and 2pm, and one hour before and after sunset. Limited numbers of Express Passes are sold, so typical wait time is under 5-minutes. Specific wait times cannot be guaranteed, only front of line privileges.

Please see below for all ticketing options and inclusions. Voucher can be redeemed within a year of date originally selected - plan your visit around the weather!

We were there Saturday morning,no lines .We were in and out in less then an hour.The people outside were trying to sell express passes and lied that time to the top was over an hour.Great experience , spectacular view ,nice weather.

We bought Express line for vip, it was a blessing. You skip all wait kines, you do not need to wait in ticket lines , do not need to wait in elevators line at 80 th, 86 th floors, and do not need to wait in lines for going down. Please make ask for Vip lines, if you find yoyse,f in lines. Vip, does not need wait in lines. Even you do not wait for security lines, they will put you to the security without a wait. Highly recommend. It saves you hours for those lines wait. The evening views are wonderful....a lot of pictures

Having been to the Empire State building before getting the Skip the Line Tickets made it an enjoyable experience. We breezed past others and felt like royalty. Would highly recommend people to spend a little more and do this. We also with shortly after the building opened in the morning and at that time did see the regular line building.

It was great! And, by buying through you, we weren't ripped off by the street people selling tickets to the Empire State Building with all their comments about how we were going to stand in lines for over 45 minutes , etc. I will definitely use your site in the future as your promises met my expectations and....we waited in line for approximately 5 five minutes!

It was great we had 5 in our group and it went very smoothly. The not waiting was great and worth the extra money. I will recommend it to my friends.

Details

Inclusions

Admission to Observation Deck

Audio tour

Exclusions

Gratuities (optional)

Admission to the 102nd Observatory Deck

Food and drinks

Additional info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking

Vouchers are valid up to a year from travel date selected

No refunds due to weather conditions, length of lines or wait times at the building

Wheelchair accessible

Children aged 5 years and younger are free. Must be accompanied by an adult

Skip-the-line privileges are only available with the Express Pass Admission Ticket option

102nd-floor Observatory: Admission tickets to the 102nd-floor observatory are sold at the observatory ticket office, on the 2nd floor of the building. Admission costs USD15.00 in addition to regular admission tickets.

Voucher info

You must present a paper voucher for this tour. We will email a link to access and print your voucher at the Lead Travelers email address.
What's this?

Local operator information

Complete Operator information, including local telephone numbers at your destination, are included on your Confirmation Voucher. Our Product Managers select only the most experienced and reliable operators in each destination, removing the guesswork for you, and ensuring your peace of mind.

General admission to the Empire State Building Observation Deck with audio tour. This does NOT include Express Pass privileges

Language Options

This tour/activity is available in the following language options:

English - Audio

French - Audio

Spanish - Audio

Japanese - Audio

Italian - Audio

Korean - Audio

Chinese - Audio

What is a tour/activity language option?
Many of our tours and activities are available in multiple languages.
"Guide" means your guide speaks the language noted.
"Audio" means a headset or similar audio device is offered in the language noted.
"Written" means a written description is offered in the language noted.
Please note: You can select a preferred language option on the checkout page.

Skip the Line Admission - Express Pass privileges for security lines, ticket lines and elevator lines on 2nd, 80th and 86th floors of the Empire State Building Observation Deck. Includes audio tour

Language Options

This tour/activity is available in the following language options:

English - Audio

French - Audio

Spanish - Audio

Japanese - Audio

Italian - Audio

Korean - Audio

Chinese - Audio

What is a tour/activity language option?
Many of our tours and activities are available in multiple languages.
"Guide" means your guide speaks the language noted.
"Audio" means a headset or similar audio device is offered in the language noted.
"Written" means a written description is offered in the language noted.
Please note: You can select a preferred language option on the checkout page.

We're sorry, we cannot confirm pricing due to the following:

We're sorry, this tour or activity is not available at this time.

Please try selecting another date and/or a different number of travelers.

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